pillion or stirrup, showing no small portion of her leg, and
occasionally waving a little whip, ornamented in the handle with tufts
of red worsted.--We had scarcely quitted the suburbs of Rouen before we
found ourselves in Darnétal, a place that has risen considerably in
importance, since the revolution, from the activity of its numerous
manufacturers. Its population is composed entirely of individuals of
this description, to whose pursuits its situation upon the banks of the
Robec and Aubette is peculiarly favorable: the greater part of the goods
manufactured here are coarse cloths and flannels. Before the revolution,
the town belonged to the family of Montmorenci.--The rest of the ride
offered no object of interest. The road, like all the main post-roads,
is certainly wide and straight; but the French seem to think that, if
these two points are but obtained, all the rest may be regarded as
matter of supererogation. Hence, very little attention is paid to the
surface of the highways: even on those that are most frequented, it is
thought enough to keep the centre, which is paved, in decent repair: the
ruts by the side are frequently so deep as to be dangerous; and in most
cases the cross roads are absolutely impassable to carriages of every
description, except the common carts of the country.--There is nothing
in which England has a more decided superiority over France than in the
facility of communication between its different towns; and there is also
nothing which more decidedly marks a superiority of civilization.
English travellers, who usually roll on the beaten track to and from the
capital, return home full of praises of the French roads; but were they
to attempt excursions among the country-towns and villages, their
opinion would be wofully altered.--The forest of Feuillée extends about
four leagues on each side of the road, between Rouen and Gournay. It
adds little to the pleasantness of the ride: the trees are planted with
regularity, and the side-branches are trimmed away almost to the very
tops. Those therefore who expect overhanging branches, or the green-wood